Government Affairs & Public Policy Manager – Canada

Who are we

Our mission is to scale intelligence to serve humanity. Were training and deploying frontier models for developers and enterprises who are building AI systems to power magical experiences like content generation semantic search RAG and agents. We believe that our work is instrumental to the widespread adoption of AI.

We obsess over what we build. Each one of us is responsible for contributing to increasing the capabilities of our models and the value they drive for our customers. We like to work hard and move fast to do whats best for our customers.

Cohere is a team of researchers engineers designers and more who are passionate about their craft. Each person is one of the best in the world at what they do. We believe that a diverse range of perspectives is a requirement for building great products.

Join us on our mission and shape the future!

Why this role

We are building a Government Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP) team that has the drive and experience to engage in and shape a nascent and unique policy environment for enterprise AI.

As our first Ottawabased GAPP hire you will bring a daytoday presence with federal and provincial governments ensuring Coheres voice is heard as AI policy procurement and innovation agendas take shape. This is an ideal opportunity for an earlycareer professional who thrives on politics policy and technologyand who wants a frontrow seat as Canada positions itself as a leader in AI. Youll work alongside seasoned policy leaders have direct exposure to executives and see your insights shape national decisions.

In this role you will:

• Report directly to Coheres Lead for North America Government Affairs & Public Policy partnering closely with Coheres senior leadership legal public policy and responsible AI teams to codevelop coordinate and implement a government affairs and stakeholder engagement strategy with the goal to advocate for adoptionfocused AI policies and related issues.

• Serve as Coheres eyes and ears in Ottawa Toronto and Beyond
  Build relationships at the working level and cultivate connections with ministerial/provincial staff departmental officials MPs aides and publicsector innovation teams to ensure Cohere is a trusted resource and partner.

  • Attend committee hearings industry roundtables and stakeholder events; track legislative and regulatory developments affecting AI data and digital procurement.

  • Coordinate crossfunctional input
    Work with Coheres GAPP Legal Responsible AI and Public Sector Sales teams to surface insights flag risks/opportunities and align messaging.
    

• Support policy advocacy & procurement strategy provincially and nationally
  Help craft submissions briefing notes and talking points on AI and technology policy initiatives and procurement policy reform efforts.

  • Prepare summaries on emerging topics for senior leadership; develop a tracker of key programs and consultations.

  • Ensure compliance by supporting accurate lobbying registrations and reporting under the Lobbying Act and related provincial/territorial rules.

You could be a great fit if you have

• 57years experience in government a ministers or MPs office publicsector consulting industry association or corporate GR/policy roleideally with exposure to tech innovation or procurement files. You must have the ability to register to lobby at the federal level with the Commissioner of Lobbying.
  

• Foundational understanding of Canadian federal & provincial policymakinghow bills move how Treasury Board and Public Services & Procurement Canada operate and the role of political staff.
  

• Strong written & verbal communicationable to distill complex issues into crisp memos and to build rapport quickly with officials and colleagues.
  

• Bias for action & intellectual curiosityyoure motivated to figure things out ask good questions and push projects over the finish line.
  

• Collaborative mindsetcomfortable working across time zones with teammates in Toronto WashingtonDC and abroad.
  

• Passion for AI and emerging techyou dont need to be an engineer but you should be excited by the policy challenges and economic potential of enterprise AI.
  

Nice to have (but not required):

• Experience supporting government procurement or publicsector sales teams.
  

• Familiarity with copyright privacy or data governance debates in Canada.
  

• French language skills.
  

If some of the above doesnt line up perfectly with your experience we still encourage you to apply! If you want to work really hard on a glorious mission with teammates that want the same thing Cohere is the place for you.

We value and celebrate diversity and strive to create an inclusive work environment for all. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are committed to providing equal opportunities. Should you require any accommodations during the recruitment process please submit an Accommodations Request Form and we will work together to meet your needs.

FullTime Employees at Cohere enjoy these Perks:

An open and inclusive culture and work environment

Work closely with a team on the cutting edge of AI research

Weekly lunch stipend inoffice lunches & snacks

Full health and dental benefits including a separate budget to take care of your mental health

100% Parental Leave topup for 6 months for employees based in Canada the US and the UK

Personal enrichment benefits towards arts and culture fitness and wellbeing quality time and workspace improvement

Remoteflexible offices in Toronto New York San Francisco and London and coworking stipend

6 weeks of vacation

Note: This post is coauthored by both Cohere humans and Cohere technology.